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Chapter Twelve

The Media

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The Media

Old Media: books, essays, pamphlets, newspapers, magazines

New Media: newspapers, television, radio, World Wide Web

Most people’s knowledge of politics comes from the media, especially the Internet

Laws and understandings in the U.S. give the media substantial freedom

There is a long tradition of private media ownership in U.S.

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Journalism in American Political History (4 Stages)

The Party Press:• Various factions/parties created, sponsored,

and controlled newspapers to further their interests.

• Circulated among political/social elites

• Examples: National Gazette, National Intelligencer, Washington Globe

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Journalism in American Political History (4 Stages)

The Popular Press:• Changes in society and technology made possible

self-supporting, mass readership daily newspapers

• Creation of Associated Press (AP) in 1848 to transmit similar stories across the nation

• Creation of the Government Printing Office (GPO) in 1860

• Use of sensationalism in news stories-known as “yellow journalism”; made popular by William Randolph Hearst and Joseph Pulitzer.

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Journalism in American Political History (4 Stages)

Magazines of Opinion:• Dislike of “yellow journalism” led to era of

reform led by “muckrakers” like Ida Tarbell, Lincoln Steffens, Upton Sinclair, etc.

• Various national magazines emerged to fulfill people’s interests.

• Examples: Atlantic Monthly, Harper’s Weekly, Cosmopolitan

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Journalism in American Political History (4 Stages)

Electronic Journalism:• Radio arrives in 1920s, television in the late

1940s

• Represented a change in how news was gathered and disseminated

• Politicians gradually realized the importance

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Electronic Journalism and the Internet Shorter sound bites on the nightly news

make it more difficult for candidates and officeholders to convey their message• 1968-42 seconds; 2000-7.3 seconds

Politicians now have more sources—cable, early-morning news, news magazine shows

40% of American households access the Internet• Internet is the ultimate free market in political

news and many trust it for all information

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Table 12.1: Decline in Viewership of the Television Networks (ABC, CBS, NBC are the “Big Three” Networks)

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Figure 12.1: Percentage of Newspaper ReadersAges 18–34

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Newspapers

Number of daily newspapers has declined significantly

Number of cities with multiple papers has declined

Subscription rates have fallen as most people get their news from television and/or the Internet

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Role of the National Press

Gatekeeper: influences what subjects become national political issues and for how long

Scorekeeper: tracks political reputations and candidates

Watchdog: investigates personalities and exposes scandals

See pgs. 295-296

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Rules Governing the Media

Ironically, the least competitive media-newspapers-are the least regulated while the most competitive media-radio and television-must have gov’t licensing and obey gov’t regulations

The First Amendment has been interpreted to mean that no gov’t can place “prior restraint” or censorship on the press except under narrowly defined circumstances

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Rules Governing the Media After publication, newspapers or magazines

may be sued for libel, obscenity, and/or incitement to commit an illegal act

The Supreme Court allows the government to compel reporters to divulge information in court if it bears on a crime

Radio and television broadcasts are licensed and regulated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)• Licenses are renewed every 7 years for radio and

every 5 years for television

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The Media and Campaigns

Equal access for all candidates under the equal time rule

Rates no higher than the cheapest commercial rate

Now stations and networks can sponsor debates limited to major candidates

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Landmark CasesThe Rights of the Media Near v. Minnesota (1931)-freedom of press

applies to state gov’ts, so that they cannot impose prior restraint on newspapers.

New York Times v. Sullivan (1964)-public officials may not win a libel suit unless they can prove that the statement was made knowing it would be false or with reckless disregard of its truth.

Miami Herald v. Tornillo (1974)-a newspaper cannot be required to give someone a right to reply to one of its stories.

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Media BiasSee pgs. 298-302!

Members of the national media are generally more liberal than the average citizen

Conservative media outlets have become more visible in recent years

Talk radio is predominantly conservative Journalistic philosophy is that the news

should be neutral and objective

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Influence on the Public

Selective attention: people remember or believe only what they want to

Newspapers that endorsed incumbents gave them more positive coverage, and voters had more positive feelings about them

Press coverage affects policy issues that people think are important

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Figure 12.2: Public Perception of Accuracy in the Media

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Coverage of Government

The president receives the most coverage

Gavel-to-gavel coverage of House proceedings since 1979 and Senate sessions since 1986 (C-SPAN)

Senatorial use of televised committee hearings has turned the Senate into a presidential candidate incubator

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The Adversarial Press

Adversarial press since Vietnam, Watergate, Iran-contra

Cynicism created era of attack journalism

Adversarial media has made negative campaign advertising more socially acceptable

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Sensationalism

Intense competition among many media outlets means that each has a small share of the audience

Sensationalism draws an audience and is cheaper than investigative reporting

Reporters may not be checking sources carefully because there is such competition for stories

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Government Constraints on the Media

Reporters must strike a balance between expressing critical views and maintaining sources

Governmental tools to fight back: numerous press officers, press releases, leaks, bypass the national press in favor of local media, presidential rewards and punishments